


Half Souls Made Whole

by Azucenov



Category: Marvel (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Angst, BUT SOMEDAY, But he likes animals, Comedy Drama, Eventual Smut, Frostpudding, Loki Does What He Wants, Loki Is A Sociopath, Loki you little shit, Look for the FB page, M/M, Might be an AU halfway through, Minor Violence, Someday, Tom also does what he wants, Tomki, Trust Issues, but there will be lols, cant predict creativity, eventually, fun stuff, implied depression, implied self harm, just not today, loki eventually softens up, serious fic tho, sociopath!loki, some violence, tom is a fragile angel, tom will be manly, twisteeeeed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-27
Updated: 2015-08-27
Packaged: 2018-01-20 15:08:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1514900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Azucenov/pseuds/Azucenov
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>We progress through the filming of and the ending of Thor: The Dark World where we learn that the world Tom Hiddleston and his co-stars were acting through, was actually a real world. Even more dreadful, Loki is real. And he has noticed Tom.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. My Own Face

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! Thanks for checking this out! I'd like to give a mention to two of my betas, Amber the admin from the Tom Hiddleston fanpage on Facebook called Dancer, Prancer, Loon. and my close friend Mariell the Swell Gal from the not fanpage on earth called real life. I hope you enjoy!
> 
> I'll be aiming to update every Saturday. But if I miss one, then expect a chapter on the next Saturday.

Our Midgard - London

Sounds of limbs shuffling under bedsheets and blankets. It was a cold night, but Tom Hiddleston was used to it. It was the fact that it was an unusually cold night that caused him to wake up this time. Tom disentangled himself from the cocoon of his bedsheets and wrapped himself in his blanket. He walked over to his thermostat and turned up the heat. It was a chilly 32F outside, but it didn’t mean he had to freeze himself. It sure did feel colder.

Tom shuffled to his bathroom, throwing the blanket back onto his bed while on the way, hissing at the sudden bite of the cold. Switching on the light, he went to relieve himself, swiftly pulling down his blue and black striped pyjamas. Tom stood idly, eyes half closed from waking up at this ungodly hour.

From out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone in his mirror. Finishing up, he walked over and stared at himself. Tom shook his head and tried to rub the sleep from his eyes with his palms. When he looked up again, there he was, only with his Loki costume on but it wasn’t exactly it,  this one was in tatters. Rubbing his eyes again, he looked up, he- in the mirror with full costume- was still there. Suddenly the reflection reached out to him. “Ahh!” Tom took a step back, but he tripped over his own long legs and hit the wall with a hard thump and fell to the ground. He stared at the mirror for a long while, there was nothing there, could he have imagined it?

“Alright alright I’m imagining things…I hope…”

He edged himself up against the wall and stepped in front of his mirror. It was just him, dyed black hair for his role as Loki, red rimmed eyes from the sleep, and his crumpled pyjamas. Nothing special. 

Tom cautiously exited his bathroom and ran to his bed. He buried himself under all of his pillows and blankets and without hesitation he fell into a fitful and dreamless sleep for the next few hours.

 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Morning

 

As morning came around, Tom got dressed and headed off to his favourite coffee shop for a bagel and a cup of coffee before going to work. The drive to the set of Thor: The Dark World was a tranquil one. Living in London, it granted him the luxury of going home for the night, and the hour long drives to work while sipping on his coffee all the more relaxing. It wasn't that Tom was antisocial, quite the opposite, but sometimes it leaves him to admire the beauty of the world in complete silence and solitude. Sometimes spending his days in his flat, his iTunes library constantly playing through wirelessly connected speakers located in every room, staring at the ceiling, reading and rereading any and all books and plays he has in his possession. Or sometimes going out for walks in nearby parks with his best mate Chris Hemsworth. Chris would often drop by, seeking the company of his favourite Brit, and almost brother. They would mostly be out and about, playing tourists and never getting tired of the sights. Chris is always fascinated by Tom's knowledge of London and it's places. Him being Australian and all, he could probably go home and show Tom the wonderful sights of Melbourne. Ever since the first Thor film, they were practically inseparable.

"You all right?" Chris had spent five minutes studying Tom, who was staring pensively into the mirror. Tom was dressed in his Loki costume, taking a break from the few scenes they had finished, not needing to be present while the next set of scenes were being worked with.

Regarding Chris for a few seconds, Tom frowned "Can I tell you something?"

"Anything mate, you know that. Though I won't make promises that I won't laugh, judging by the way you've been fancying yourself in that mirror." although Chris knew this wasn't the case, he did want to lighten the mood for Tom, feeling uneasy that he hasn't been energetic and crazy all day in the first place. He sat down on one of the couches in the trailer, behind Tom who was looking into the make up mirror, ready to listen.

Tom sighed, gathering his thoughts, "Last night I woke up, it was insufferably cold for some weird reason, I turned up the heat and went to my bathroom to pee and my reflection in the mirror...it was me in full costume, only it wasn't me. I'm fairly convinced I was sleep walking and having a nightmare or... or _something_!” Judging by the way Chris was looking at him, he knew that his friend understood it was something he should really listen to. "And then I, or him, reached out to me, it scared me and I tripped and slammed against the wall. Then after that, when I looked up to see if he was still there...there was nothing. It happened so fast I was so sure I was imagining it as a really bad nightmare. I just ran back to bed, it felt unreal."

Chris shifted in his seat, processing his dear friend's words."You sure it wasn't that? Because I can tell you don't think so, I mean you're telling me about something you saw in your mirror, something that was supposed to be your reflection but wasn't? Something that is supposed to move when you do but moved on its own? Something that was there for a few seconds?"

Tom swivelled around in his chair and looked into Chris's intense blue eyes, concentrating on choosing his next words.

"Yes. Basically. What's worse is that I can't shake it off like you normally would any other instance like it. Yes, it was disturbing, the feeling I can't shake off is that I'm being watched. As well as seeing what I saw… " looking flustered, Tom stood up and started pacing, Chris's eyes never leaving him. Minutes passed while Tom struggled to find his next words, hopefully not coming off as a complete lunatic with his telling of his story so far. "... What I think I saw … a face that wasn't my own. A face that looked exactly like mine yeah, but it wasn't mine." a look of concentration. How was Tom going to explain to Chris about something he could have sworn to have seen in the mirror, half asleep, about his own reflection? But it was a feeling he couldn't shake. 

 

It made him uneasy every time it crossed his mind. "Tom, this was, I reckon 12 or 1 in the morning? No one can be bothered to function normally at those hours. You had a startle while you were tired and probably half asleep, and I think just how lots of minds work, it took that experience and played with it which would explain you not being able to shake it off. And why you feel it was something more, like lucid dreaming only when you're awake. I think you can hallucinate when you're tired or not completely awake you know. Especially a talented actor such as yourself, you immerse your whole being into a role, what did you expect?" Defeated, Tom threw his arms up in a shrug and plopped himself down next to Chris, feeling a bit closer to the man, probably because the costumes they were both wearing were about a little too bulky, including the capes. 

They sat in relative silence for a couple minutes, until Chris jumped up. "Chris! What are you on about?! You scared the living day lights out of me and I don't think the second time makes it any better!" Tom snapped.

Chris slumped apologetically "Sorry mate, I just had an idea." 

Tom hit his forehead, realising what he had just done. "No wait, I'm sorry I didn't mean to snap at you, I'm still really tired. What was your idea?" Chris's face lit up with a huge smile at his friends apology, not because of the apology but because he knew Tom will not stop apologising for the rest of the day.

"Would you like some tea? I know there's some earl grey at that concessions stand by Jaimie's trailer." Knowing he could use a cup, Tom politely accepted and sat down in front of his mirror again, while Chris fetched their tea.

Staring into the mirror with his chin resting on his knuckles, Tom studied his own face. Playing with his expressions, moving minuscule muscles and seeing his entire expression change when these small muscles did. It was an exercise he used to gain control of different emotions and expressions he used for conveying the right character. Obviously his own sweet face can't naturally assume Loki's evil and mischievous face. Something like that needed practice. It did make him successful for the role in the earlier Marvel movies.

He played with a bright expression, lifting the corners of his mouth slightly and lifting his eyebrows by an ever so small fraction.

Tom let his facial muscles relax, then lifted his eyebrows, looking innocent. 

 

Then worried.

 

Cheerful.

 

Arrogant.

 

Thoughtful.

 

Lost.

 

Hurt.

 

Tom stared at his face, in awe that it was even his face. It didn't feel like his own face looking back at him. Finally, he relaxed, let out a sigh and stood up. Walking to the the far end of the trailer in easy long steps, pulling the door open to see why Chris was taking an unusual amount of time to head to the beverage stand and return with tea. Much to his surprise and complete confusion, it was raining an impossible amount of rain when only an hour ago the sun was shining bright without a grey cloud in sight. Seeing Chris running across the lot with two styrofoam cups in hand, red cape billowing behind him, he figured it must have started only a minute ago. 

"Brother! Where did all this rain come from?" Tom's hand clapped over his own mouth. Before Chris realised the way Tom addressed him, which he seemed not to have noticed, he quickly stepped aside to let Chris inside his trailer. "Damn rain came out of no where! I heard Alan calling a stop to today's work. I guess they didn't check the weather forecast!" Chris stepped inside the trailer, taking off his heavy soaking wet cape and unlatching and unzipping his costume. Tom a few feet away doing the same, struggling with belts and clips, but managing. When they were both down to their boxers and tanks, they finally decided to enjoy that hot tea. 

 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Few Hours Later: Tom's Trailer

 

"...and the hammer's head flies right off the handle! I really didn't expect that to happen!" Chris's boisterous laugh and Tom's breathy giggle mingled in the air. It's been two hours, they've been exchanging stories from movies they have done as well as the happenings on the set of The Dark World. The rain lightened up slightly, enough to let the cast and crew  safely drive home or to wherever it is they're staying, but not enough to continue filming the rest of the scenes. Chris and Tom decided to take the opportunity to head to their own flats and freshen up before walking over to a nearby pub. 

It was two in the morning after a night of semi-heavy drinking, they were both stumbling back to their places, added that they did bump into a few people on the way and Chris even collided with a man and fell. Chris only living a block farther than Tom, left him at his doorstep with a promise to call the next day to plan an activity, as they had a day off from filming. Clambering up the stairs to his door step proved to be a bit slow. On the third or fourth try, Tom luckily managed to get his key into the keyhole and step inside his flat. Of course it was dark, but Tom could not possibly be bothered to turn on any lights. Stepping heavily through his living room and to the kitchen(while possibly bumping into a few things along the way) he opened his refrigerator. Letting ambient light flood the room, he grabbed bottle of water and greedily gulped it down. 

Walking to his bedroom seemed like another matter, dodging the chairs and table in the dining area with his night vision affected by the refrigerator light, everything seemed darker. 

 

"Careful." 

 

A maliciously amused voice from his right spoke out. Tom quickly spun in the direction of the voice only to meet darkness. In a defensive stance he learned from his trainers for some films, he stared into the shadows until he could see. There was nothing there.  Tom slapped his forehead, "Good job Tom, you're a drunk stumbling fool who hears voices in the dark from someone who isn't even there." 

 

"I completely agree." 

 

Again! But this time the voice was behind him. Tom spun around, tripping in a drunken haze, falling back and knocking his head on the edge of the dinner table. As Tom lost consciousness, he couldn't help but make a small promise to himself, _'I_ _must remember to turn on the lights next time.'_  before passing out into a dark unconscious sleep. 


	2. Doppelgänger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seriously, Loki? Seriously?

Tom's Dream

 

Tom kept walking down the empty streets. The sky was gloomy and it did feel a tad bit cold, but the coat his mother bought him after the first Thor movie kept him warm. Along with the scarf his younger sister, Emma, had given him when they were young. Why Tom was walking through his empty neighbourhood puzzled him. Why it was empty in the first place puzzled him even more.  

 

Ah, a thought had hit him. The one place he knew was never empty, his favourite coffee shop. That is where he will look and get his answers.

 

As he made his way across the street from the shop, but not before checking both ways for cars, which there was no need to since there weren't people or cars. Tom pushed open the door and stepped inside.

 

“Hello!......oh."  It was dead empty. Tom had noticed there was no sound as well. Tom was now completely worried, it was unlike the shop to be open and not have grinders and coffee makers whirring in the background. There were no clicks and cups being filled, no orders being passed to other employees, not even the quietly constant tap taps of customers working on their computers, and there were most definitely....no people. This was very unsettling indeed, the cafe was completely empty and no sound came whatsoever.. 

 

“Hello? Anybody back there?” Tom waited for a minute or two for an answering call from the back. When no answer came, Tom huffed and turned on his heel, heading out the door. 

 

As he stepped out, it wasn't the patio in front of the shop, but a long golden hall with a high ceiling and tall pillars. It was adorned with metals and stones and patterns that seemed too surreal. Norse patterns, gleaming gold surfaces and what looked like a throne at the very far end, shining brilliantly and calling for attention with its high and royal presence. The hall looked very much like the throne room from the Thor movies, only complete in real life, no blue screens to fill in the space with CGI later.

 

And someone was occupying the royal throne now.

 

Tom first noticed the long staff and then he saw the clothes the man was wearing, almost tarnished looking metals, but beautiful and radiant in a way. With black leathers and green fabrics, it looked almost exact to his Loki costume in the movies, except with elegance and character to it. The long horns curling up and over helmet, almost menacing as it reminded him of a beast. The long staff making him look all the more regal.

 

“It’s him..it’s him, it’s him, it’s him. Oh… why does he look like me?” Tom meant the panicked whisper to be only to himself but somehow the man at the end heard him. 

 

"That has been a question on my mind since I first caught sight of you.”

 

The voice, very much like Tom's, was almost velvety and at the same time harsher than his own. A simple reply to his thought, it was also oddly entrancing. It made you want to listen.

 

"Who are you?" Tom walked warily until he was ten feet away from this strange man. What he saw surprised him, it was his own face, but not his. His expression, a smug smile with sharp cold emerald eyes, which could send daggers through one's very soul. It was not his face, merely a copy in a dream he was probably dreaming about himself in character. Despite being in complete shock as this man was identical in obvious ways, he couldn't help but think it was a bit funny that it looked like a case of Good twin Bad twin. 

 

 

In one smooth motion the man stood up and held himself proudly, as if above everyone, with his arms held wide. A malignant grin took over his face, as if expecting the mortal to know exactly who he was. Loving the sound of his own name, he introduced himself in a low dramatic voice as he looked down at Tom.

 

Maybe the man was being a little dramatic, but one must drink in the shock and attention his title usually accompanied in the eyes of mortals and anyone lesser than him.

 

"I am Loki," a pause to take in Tom's shock. "...of Asgard."

 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

Weeks Before: Forest Lands Outside London

 

After Loki had fallen into the void, he had drifted for what felt like centuries through a blank and lonely space. Floating through nothingness, alone and helpless through worlds long forgotten. Fighting off its inhabitants of all sorts, from gods of old and creatures who were suspected to have died out several millennia before his birth, Loki could only escape by jumping back to the empty space. During these drifts, he would fall asleep to pass the time and conserve his energy and build up his power, weak as it was from having to fight and use every defence he knew to survive. Waking up in world after world, running and seeking refuge only to be chased out again.

 

Loki felt himself come back to consciousness. He hadn’t opened his eyes, feigning unconsciousness when he had sensed a presence near him. Feeling the presence move, with his pride toughening him up, he quickly sprang to his feet, wincing as his last battles had left him injured and sore and still recovering. He lashed out to his right when he felt something cold and wet nudging at his arm, a long hunting knife appearing in his grip ready to take down the threat. His green eyes locked onto the big brown eyes of a doe, who luckily dodged quickly out of the way of Loki’s knife, standing next to her fawn who was standing a safe distance away. The deer were inspecting this seemingly harmless object in the middle of their forest home. Loki let out a relieved laugh, startling the deer back a few more paces, to think he was ready to fight off the big scary deer!  

 

Loki sheathed the weapon into his boot and dusted off what was left of his outfit, which was blood stained, dirty, and in tatters, and beckoned to the deer. It was probably the only non-frightening thing about him, his love for animals. Some would say they didn't hate Loki as much when they saw him turn into almost a child around the beasts in the yards of Asgard. _If_ you were lucky to catch a glimpse of him. Loki always hid his true self from sight of others, never trusting the Asgardians he would rightfully rule over one day. The only people he would never hide from were his mother, Frigga, and his brother, Thor. Only which he was uncertain about, ever since he found out he was adopted, he had banished everyone from his life, the rift between him and his “family” growing bigger with each passing day. 

 

In the far off distance, Loki could hear the sounds of shouting and swords clashing, the all too familiar sounds of battle.

 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

 

Loki caught a glimpse of people in a clearing before he got to the tree line. Having learned the art of stealth from fighting classes when he was younger, he simply crawled on his belly until he reached the crest. Keeping low, he observed people looking so alarmingly like those on Asgard that for a quick moment he was tempted to run the other direction. Asgard would definitely be a place he did not wish to go back to any time soon, save only to see his mother. The more he observed, the more he realised that these people looked a lot more pathetic than the average Asgardian. Their attire seemed like a very bland imitation of warrior fashions and caught a glimpse of their weapons and armour, which seemed to lack something Loki could not quite put a finger on. 

 

He watched for several minutes, seeing these unfamiliar objects that surrounded these people, manned by people who dressed completely different from the fighters. It was this, and hearing the way these people talked, that he came to the conclusion that he was in fact, on Midgard.

 

Or _‘Earth’_ as these mortals seemed to call it.

 

Loki gave the thought a contemptuous smile. It was a well known fact that he had no love for Midgardians. To him, they were fragile, stupid, and so far beneath him that when he had heard the news of Thor falling in love with a mortal woman during his banishment, he had taunted and baited him with insults for months. He had also been the one to tell his father of the mortal woman, causing the All-father to take swift action and forbid Thor to ever visit earth ever again. Of course this did not sit well with Thor, but he had no choice since the Bifrost had been destroyed and it was the only way in and out of Asgard and other worlds. Of course they traveled through known small tears in the world that would link to a tear in another world, he had searched long and hard for one connecting to earth but has not found one.

 

The longer he watched, the more he learned of the characters these midgardians portrayed. Realising that four of them were to be the fair Lady Sif and the Warriors Three. Much to his surprise that they did look just like the real thing, which made him suppress a rather persistent laugh.

 

There was one character in particular which had him curious. It was a man identical to his not-brother, Thor.

 

After this discovery, he had followed this Thor look-a-like for days, learning his name was Chris Hemsworth and that these impostors were actually actors for a film that was to depict the life and troubles of Thor and his people. He had heard that he himself was also a character in this film. He was now even more curious to find out who was to be acting him out. 

 

It wasn’t until Loki had stalked Chris Hemsworth to his dwelling on a rainy night that he saw Tom.

 

The actor had met up with the Thor look-a-like to go to a Midgardian tavern of sorts. Compared to his not-brother and his friends, it didn’t take long for these mortals to come stumbling out, giggling and supporting each other for balance. 

Loki used his magic to make himself look inconspicuous, simply changing into the form of an old man taking a stroll. He ducked out from the alley he was watching them from, walking towards Tom and Chris as they stumbled along. They were too engrossed in a conversation between themselves to notice Loki approaching them.

 

One touch was all he needed to plant a spell to allow him to keep track of these mortals. Because he did want to have freedom to explore more of this world and these mortal actors were too interesting to abandon. Loki walked, feigning interest in the items displayed in the shop windows. He adjusted his path to connect with Chris’s shoulder, effectively gaining an “Oof!” from the man and knocking him over as his balance was hindered in this intoxicated state.

 

“Oh I do apologise!” Loki gave Tom a mischievous smile and looked down at Chris. At the time, Tom had given him a nervous smile, he thought the man’s smile was a little unsettling but quickly dismissed the thought and bent over to try and pick Chris up. 

 

Sitting on the ground to settle his spinning head, he looked up at Loki and smiled “That’s alright mate, my friend and I weren’t paying attention,” he laughed to himself “too much to drink I suppose!”

 

“Yes, our fault, we’re sorry!” Tom looked down and Chris “C’mon Chris lets get you right.” he slipped his hand under Chris’s arm to stand him up. 

 

“It is no problem boys, get home…safely.” Loki hissed this last word, almost enjoying the prospect of playing with these mortals’ lives. He gave Tom a tap on the shoulder and went on his way, and ducked into the first dark alley.

 

Using his magic once again, he made himself invisible and made to follow the actors.

 

Loki didn’t bother following Chris to his flat again, he had grown tired of the man and was now curious to play with Tom. He slipped inside before Tom closed the door and sat on the table to observe this mortal. 

 

He had to admit, Tom was quite a sight. It may seem incredibly vain, but the fact that here was a specimen identical to him physically that it was almost impossible to take his eyes off Tom. Loki leaned back and watched as Tom stumbled through darkness, drink down water and make an attempt to walk in the dark in his inebriated state. 

 

As Tom came around the table to Loki’s side, he had stumbled on one of the chairs, choosing to play with the man, he simply told Tom to be “careful”. Of course it was hilarious to Loki the way Tom had picked up a defensive stance in his direction.

 

_‘This mortal believes he can defend himself against me!’_ Loki thought with a small smirk. _‘I’ll show him what it is to be defenceless…’_ Loki dropped off a table without a sound and walked around Tom to stand behind him. He watched Tom stupidly slap his forehead muttering something about being a fool, only for Loki to reply in simple agreement that Tom was in fact a fool. 

 

This caused the mortal to knock himself unconscious in his startled fall. Loki could not help but see an opportunity for mischief. With incredible strength, and none too gently, Loki picked Tom up by the shirt and flung him over his shoulder. He then unceremoniously threw Tom onto his bed, hands starting to glow a menacing green.

 

Oh was he going to enjoy this. Loki let out an evil laugh, how bored he had been since arriving on Midgard, he missed playing tricks on his brother but he was content to settle for this doppelgänger. 

 

Loki climbed up onto the bed over Tom and straddled him. He placed his hands on either side of Tom’s head with his thumbs on Tom’s temples. The magic seemed to seep into his head causing Tom to murmur something incoherent. 

 

Loki let out a sigh as he concentrated on his magic, entering Tom’s mind. 

 

Having full control over Tom’s dream.

 

In fact, having control over Tom’s nightmare.

 


	3. Beg For Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys! I have been extremely busy, as have been my betas, so we're a little behind in getting chapters out to you! I'm going to school for engineering so the workload is super crazy, and I'm also in a drum corps so my weekends are a little hell I'm literally uploading this chapter while my shower heats up! lol! 
> 
> Just a little warning, chapter 4 may be a little late too. I apologise in advance.
> 
> Thank you for reading! Enjoy! <3

Tom’s Dream

 

“I am Loki…of Asgard.”

 

The silence in the room was deafening, as Tom stared at Loki with a wide blue-eyed stare, he couldn’t help but to start laughing hysterically. 

 

Tom had started laughing so hard that he fell to his knees and held his sides. Loki looked at him with a glowering gaze, who did this mortal think he was to laugh at him? At him! 

 

Loki had started down the steps from the throne to stand menacingly tall over Tom. This had startled Tom into falling back onto his haunches and scuttling back to put distance between him and the god. He may have his image, but the god looked menacing and furious. Standing tall over Tom as he was, it was clear this was not a man to be trifled with. 

 

Tom quickly but cautiously got up to his feet, as Loki was striding slowly towards him. The god looked as if he were teasing him before pouncing on him. It wasn’t until Tom felt a cold stone pillar at his back did he realise he was stuck. Loki closed the space between them with a couple of easy long steps. 

 

At this proximity, their chests were only a few inches apart, but the difference in height was obvious. Loki was probably 6 inches taller than Tom’s 6 foot 3’ height, with his helmet only adding to his height. The way he stood tall in front of Tom was making him press his back harder to the pillar, as if melting into it would protect him from this threat.

 

Most of all, the fury in Loki’s eyes seemed to make them glow a dark green, Tom couldn’t help but stare into them.

 

Loki’s mouth was set in a hard line, but there was no doubt he was displeased with the manner the smaller man had laughed at him. With a penchant for playing with people’s emotions, he put on the least threatening smile and backed away, arms high but pointing the staff at Tom. 

 

“You, mortal, are a very amusing toy indeed. You think this a joke?”

 

Tom swallowed, “Of course it must be a joke, this is a dream. There can be no way the character I have been playing for years is real. Especially when you’re practically a mirror image.”

 

Loki stared long and hard at Tom, “This is true, but even you must possess the ability to tell a dream from reality, do you not?” He took a few steps to Tom’s right side, eyeing him. “What techniques is it you mortals use to discern dream from reality? Causing oneself pain?” 

 

As Loki said this last word, he raised the staff high and struck Tom hard in the knee. Crying out in pain, Tom crumpled to the floor to hold his leg. It was painful indeed, it couldn't have been a dream with pain like this. He was sure his knee had been broken, he can feel the swelling and the throbbing begin to creep in.

 

Loki walked around the whimpering man, his staff taping as he brought it forth with every other step.

 

“Was that not supposed to wake you from this dream you are having? Tell me, do you need another jolt?” 

 

With this, he drove a hard kick into Tom’s side with considerable strength, he slid a few feet. 

 

Tom was writhing in pain and gasping as he fought to catch a breath after it had been so ungraciously kicked out of him. 

“Stop… Please stop…” Tom tried to crawl away as Loki meandered toward him. “I know now this isn’t a dream, please don't hurt me anymore.” His last words were broken.

 

“It is such a sweet sound that flows to my ears to hear you begging for your life and well being. But I’m afraid this is a dream.” The silver tongued man raised the staff high as Tom rolled onto his back, terrified of what Loki was about to do. “I feel it my duty to help my new little pet to wake from such a horrible nightmare, don’t you agree?”

 

"No no no, please!" With his scream caught in his throat and eyes stuck on the sharp point of Loki’s staff, it was all he could do as it was brought down to pierce through his chest.

 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Morning

 

Tom awoke bathed in the morning sun, gasping for air and probing his chest for a wound that wasn’t there. He was still dressed in the clothes from last night, but it was obvious he had a nightmare from the way his white button up stuck to his sweaty body. He sat up and flexed his right leg experimentally, it felt strong and healthy. It seemed it _was_ just a nightmare, but it had felt so real. 

 

With a relieved sigh, he fell back against his pillows. 

 

_‘When had I gotten to bed?’_ Tom quickly scrambled out of bed. This was a mistake, he realised his head started throbbing and he was dizzy. He peeled off his shirt, kicked off his shoes and pants headed to his bathroom, immediately noticing the red swollen cut on his forehead.

 

Wincing as he probed the injury with a trembling hand, he thought with a smile _’I must have been completely wasted last night to have done this and not noticed.’_ He would have to stop getting so drunk with Chris if his face was to suffer for it. 

 

Tom was still visibly shaken from the nightmare as his hands still shook when he reached for the knob to turn on the shower. It was still trying to process through his brain because it had felt so real and he truly felt the pain through its intensity, but such a character like Loki to exist was impossible. 

 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

 

Chris had let himself into Tom's flat with his spare key, calling out a greeting to Tom who was dressing in his room. He started cooking breakfast as Tom tiredly shuffled out, wearing his favourite navy blue pants and a black V-neck t-shit. Chris couldn’t help chuckling to himself at the sight of all of Tom’s ten chest hairs. Chris’s intense stare caught sight of the bandaid on Tom’s forehead, he must have hit himself on the way in. Tom was definitely a bit wobbly when he had left him at his doorstep last night. 

 

Chris served up two plates of eggs, bacon, and pancakes and beckoned for Tom to take a seat at the table. He watched as Tom stretched tall, his shirt lifting enough to show his flat tummy. The memory of how Chris had laughed when Tom was told he had to lose all muscle for the role of Loki after he spent so much time getting toned and buff had caused him to smile to himself, earning a questioning look from Tom.

 

For a while, they ate in strained silence, Chris couldn’t stop staring at Tom, simply because he was worried about him. He looked distracted and distant, staring at his food and idly pushing it around with his fork. Tom’s head rested on his free hand, fingers curled against his jaw. 

 

Chris thought he’d get his attention, the silence was deafening.

 

"Tom." 

 

Tom continued to stare at his plate and pushed around a piece of bacon.

 

"Tom!"

 

He looked up at Chris with confusion, "What?"

 

"Are you okay? You're not completely hung over are you?" The concern all too obvious in Chris's face "You've been shovelling your food about for 20 minutes and you look like you haven't got a wink of sleep last night. Do you need to go to a hospital?"

 

Tom smiled tiredly at Chris, "I just had a bad dream, that's all." the tiredness in his voice made it sound like a sad whisper. "I also am just hung over, I'm pretty sure I tripped and whacked myself on something."

 

Chris laughed loudly "Really? I reckoned you did that when you fell!"

" _I_ fell?" Tom scoffed. " _You_ were the one who crashed into that poor old man and fell back on your arse!"

 

"Oh is that really what happened? No wonder I'm sore." Chris rubbed his backside and held a comedic pained look on his face. 

 

Tom giggled, immediately feeling better from the thoughts that plagued him. He was inwardly thankful that Chris hadn't asked him what his nightmare was, he didn't think his friend would believe him so readily this time. 

 

 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Recreational Park near Central London

 

Chris and Tom had decided to visit the carnival that had set up in a nearby park. It was a grand thing, with lights, rides, and all sorts of heart attack inducing foods that got Tom giddy and Chris salivating. Even if they were in Tom’s home turf, there were still fans who would run to them for a picture and an autograph. In Tom’s eyes, it was fun greeting is fans and seeing all of their beautiful, and some interesting, artwork. As soon as Tom and Chris got out of the initial commotion upon their arrival, they ambled along the path for the carnival rides. 

 

Tom admittedly was still distracted by his unnerving nightmare. The tightness in his chest all the evidence that he still expected a bloody gaping wound at his chest. Even his knee started to feel stiff, the shooting pain he felt in his nightmare felt so real and so intense, his brain was starting to think it the injuries really happened. He regretted not telling Chris about it, but he really didn’t want his best friend to worry. He knew that Chris would try and examine the dream and find out what is causing it and if need be, he would probably halt the filming of Thor 2 to keep Tom from having any more Loki nightmares. Tom decided to try and have as much fun as possible, to keep Chris from noticing how this newest development really displaced his normal happy and eager demeanour. 

 

Walking through the crowd and deciding on which rides or which foods to eat proved a chore for them both. Tom and Chris hopped on the zero gravity ride, where you stand against the walls of the wheel as it tilts while it spins and hope you don't go flying off. Then after, they decided they would go on the Zipper, a caged spinning ride that left you dizzy and sometimes sick after. Of course, the cages were a little small for the two tall men, and in Chris’s case, too built to fit the both in one. They played a quick Rock, Paper, Scissors to decide who went first. Tom won.

 

As he completed one full turn on the ride, he was the first one off, so he waited by the exit listening to Chris’s jovial laugh and shouts of “Oh I’m going to be sick!”

 

Tom stood against the railing, looking fixedly into the crowd. It was then that he saw him.

 

It was only for a quick moment, but it was enough to identify the god as he looked back at Tom, making a silence motion by pressing one long index finger to his lips. A quick moment, then he was gone as the crowd engulfed him. 

 

Tom had sprung to stand at his full height to look over the crowd, to make sure he wasn’t just seeing things awake now. Craning his neck to look to and fro, he could not see the unmistakable figure of the man who haunted his thoughts. He was experiencing a tightness in his chest, breathing shallow but fast breaths as if they were to be his last. His heart was pounding strong and hard, as if to escape the cage of his torso. A cold sweat on his skin.

 

_‘Fear’_ as the sudden realisation hit him. 

  
He was experiencing a panic attack. Tom kept himself in check by closing his eyes, reciting his favourite poetry in his mind and taking slow deep breaths, something that always kept him calm when he was nervous before an event or performance. As he calmed, he opened his eyes, blue irises shifting to adjust to the bright sunlight. 

 

Conveniently, the crowd had died down and it was easier to see the grounds of the carnival as children bustled about, dragging their parents to the next ride. 

 

 It wasn’t until Chris playfully bumped into him that he snapped back to reality. His big smile expelling the uneasiness from his body, leaving him numb.

 

“Whats wrong, mate? You look pale, do you want to grab a bite to eat?” Chris motioned with a nod of his head toward the area where food vendors and picnic tables were set up.

 

_‘This could not be a better time to tell Chris about the nightmare…’_ Tom thought with an inward smile. “Sure, let us embark on an adventure of foods that could potentially kill us before we finish filming a much anticipated movie!” 

 

Chris laughed and gave Tom a hearty slap on the back “That’s the spirit, mate! I think I’ll have a couple hot dogs and burgers, I’ve been craving carnival food since I’ve heard of this place setting up!” 

 

“Lets go, I’d like a funnel cake. I haven’t had one of those years!” Tom started walking toward the vendors.

 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

 

After they had gotten their food, chatting about the filming of Thor 2, the wellbeing of Chris’s wife and child still back in Australia, and general conversing about future movie and award events, they finally got to sitting down at a secluded table on the far side of the eating area. 

Tom spoke up after he was done with his food. “Chris, I had a nightmare last night.”

 

With a mouthful of fries, Chris looked up expectantly waiting for Tom to finish what he was saying. Motioning with a single hand politely for Tom to go on talking.

 

Tom sighed, then told Chris every single painful and terrifying detail. 

 

Tom waited for Chris to absorb everything he just told him. For something so dark to come from Tom’s mouth and to have been made in Tom’s mind was indeed something to digest. 

 

“I even saw him as I waited for you.” Tom paused. “In the crowds, just over there.” he pointed toward the general area he had seen the god.

 

At this confession, Chris straightened up and searched with his eyes. He looked long and hard, expecting to find the man and possibly confront him for causing his dear friend so much grief. It was only sudden realisation that it was a nightmare and not the first time Tom had hallucinated his own character. 

 

“I’m moving in with you.” Chris spoke suddenly. He spoke nonchalantly, as if commenting on the fine weather this evening. With such a definitive tone that it was in fact sunny and breezy, that he was in fact moving in with Tom.

 

Tom made to protest, only to have a sound escape his mouth from an unfinished word when Chris held up a hand to keep him from speaking.

 

“Look, I’ve made up my mind. Today has been the worst that I’ve seen you. You’re having out of character nightmares _about_ your character, and you hallucinated twice and I still don't know where that bump on your head came from.” a quick pause to examine Tom’s expression. Oddly enough, it was accepting. He continued, “I’m legitimately worried, don’t think I haven’t noticed how this is affecting you. I haven’t got much in my flat that I can’t call a mover to put into boxes and move into storage and the spare room you have already has loads of my clothes already in it. It’s done. It’s settled. There is nothing you can do about it.” He sat back in his chair and folded his arms ready to hear a protest argument.

 

None came.

 

Tom simple stared at Chris, and said “Okay” before standing and picking up both of their paper plates and throwing them away.

 

“That’s it?” Chris couldn’t believe it.

 

“That’s it. If you don’t mind, I’d like you to accompany me to the mirror maze please.” Tom gave Chris a knowing smile, which only served to confuse him even more. Little did he know, Tom was actually planning on asking Chris to move in anyway. It seemed to make sense, since he was always around and he might as well help pay rent.

 

Chris shrugged and made to follow Tom.

 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

 

With all awkward events made history, they walked in amiable silence to the mirror maze. Tom always loved the way he got confused and turned around as a child. They were some of the best memories when he was small and wanted to end the day on a high note and visit those memories once again. Although, standing at the entrance, he was apprehensive with recent events with mirrors, Tom got a spark of bravery and stepped in. 

 

Tom was able to wander in, hands in his pockets as if he knew the maze like the back of his hand. At his side, Chris was a little less graceful than Tom, holding out his arms to tell if he was walking towards an opening or crashing into another mirror. It was oddly silent, with the occasional giggle and crash from Chris and other maze goers. It wasn't until they reached a "T" in the maze that they both looked at each other, with their up-to-no-good smiles. It was time to play a game. 

 

"You take left, I'll take right, first one to the end does house chores for a week." Tom challenged Chris. 

 

Chris jumped and dashed through his side of the maze, putting up a hand to wave at Tom. "You're on!" he called as he disappeared around a turn. 

 

Tom hurried along the mirrors, left hand always touching the wall to make finding his way easier. His sense of direction was gone with each turn and back track he had to make. Eventually, Tom reached a dead end. He turned around and started walking back, hoping this hadn't allowed Chris to gain on him. He kept walking for what seemed like ages before he hit another dead end. 

 

_'Weird,'_ he thought _'I remember there being a turn somewhere here...'_

 

Tom turned around and took two steps before crashing into another mirrored wall. He put his arms out, each hand touching a wall. Tom's eyes grew wide and wild as he turned circles looking for an exit. Tom was starting to have a panic attack, if he didn't like mirrors before, he definitely didn't like them now. 

 

Tom was trapped in a mirrored prison.

 


	4. Royal Pains

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for being here! Once again I apologize, I updated as soon as my beta went over it. Literally two minutes ago! Enjoy!

Mirror Maze

 

Tom’s eyes grew wide, his heartbeat quickened, and time slowed down. The suddenness of it all had triggered his body to initiate the fight-or-flight response. What he was to fight or where he was to run to were the real questions. Trapped in a mirror prison with no one but his own panicked reflexion and no way to defend himself, he started to yell his best friend's name.

 

“CHRIS! HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME!” Tom’s voice grew raw with every scream for help.

 

Tom frantically searched the walls for any sign of an exit, but the walls were too tall to climb over and he couldn't find an opening. He was trapped, and the fear balled up in his throat made him more frantic.

 

A sudden whooshing came from the room as the walls started to spin. The mirrors were spinning around him so quickly Tom almost felt sick. The walls started to expand slowly then suddenly they blew wide in a gust of wind. The panels had expanded and multiplied to form a large circular room, Tom's terrified reflection in every mirror. Then suddenly, Tom had no reflection in any of the panels but one.

 

 

Mirror Tom stood tall and proud, with such a mischievous smile he could only guess it was the one and only Loki. Whereas, Tom himself was in the centre of the room dreading what was to come next. He knew that when weird unexplainable things happened he would always be tortured by the trickster god before waking up from whatever horrible nightmare it was. _If_ it was an unreal nightmare at all.

 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

Chris had exited the maze and searched for Tom, surprisingly not finding him. He waited outside for what seemed an eternity in Tom Time, but no Tom. He was beginning to get worried, Tom was way too talented at puzzles like mazes, there is no way he would take this long even on a bad day.

 

Suddenly there were paramedics slicing through the crowds with an orange stretcher and their red medical bags. Chris's heart dropped as an emergency access door opened into the maze to let them in. Chris only caught a few of the words as the maze manager explained what had happened inside.

 

"They said they found him on the floor having a seizure! Then he started calling for someone named Chris." The man and the paramedics had disappeared inside, heading to the patient.

 

At this news, Chris ran in, a deep pit in his stomach formed as he realised his best friend was hurt. He followed quickly behind the paramedics and the maze manager, their urgency distracting them from noticing Chris. He slipped through the quick access doors that were built into the mirror walls, already a path to Tom. Chris barrelled his way to his friend who was unconscious on the floor sweating, pale, and cold to the touch.

 

"We have to get him to the hospital sir. Please step aside." The tall dark haired paramedic grabbed Chris by the shoulder reassuringly.

 

It wasn't enough reassurance, Chris shrugged his hand away and continued to fuss over Tom's still form. Finally, he was wrestled off by the manager and paramedic, while the second medic attended to Tom. Chris knew in his mind that they were trying to help his dearest friend, but it hurt so much to see him like this, but he gave in and let them take Tom away.

 

As they carried him away, the dark haired paramedic told Chris they'd be taking him to St. Thomas if he wanted to follow in his own vehicle. Chris ran as fast as he could to his car and sped to catch up to the ambulance. St. Thomas was only a five minute drive, but it felt like centuries for Chris, his worry over Tom only growing.

 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

Loki, who took the form of Tom's reflection, sauntered panel to panel. It was as if they were looking at each other through panes of glass, physically identical. The only difference was the emotion both effused from their bodies and eyes. Pure unadulterated fear from Tom, dangerous barely suppressed rage from Loki. Only he hid this, because one of his favourite things to do is instil fear into his new play thing. There was nothing more unsettling than feeling the power emanating off the powerful god.

 

Knowing what was to come next, Tom dropped to his knees, eyes shut tight and submissively awaited torture.

 

When none came, Tom cautiously peeked up from under his long lashes, to an empty room. Loki was nowhere to be seen and to his surprise, neither was his own reflection. The ominous silence only gave way to Tom's rapid heart beat, adrenaline coursing through his veins. He must find an escape.

 

Getting up, he half ran and half stumbled to the nearest mirror, looking for any signs of an exit. Inching along every panel left and right, he ran across the room in a panic and feeling claustrophobic under the circumstances. Colliding with his reflection in the mirror panel, he continued his search along the edges for an opening.

 

Sudden realisation had dawned on him...

 

_Wait a minute, my reflection?_

 

As suddenly as he had appeared, Loki slammed his hands on the invisible wall between he and Tom, which sent Tom reeling back and falling back down on his rear with renewed fear.

 

"You will pay for your insolence! You think that friend of yours will protect you?!"

 

"No, I- AHH!"

 

Tom's excuse was cut short by his painful scream. A flash of green had shattered the mirror Loki was standing in, sending a sharp, intense pain through his head.

 

"You simply need to understand, _pet_ , I am your master." The enunciation on the word "pet" only a vicious snarl, making clear his intense hate for Tom.

 

"This defiance of yours does not sit well with me, I am going to have to punish you."

 

With that promise, every mirror shattered with a brilliant green flash. Each panel burst, one by one, sending every kind of pain through every single bit of Tom's body. His shrieks were heard by no one but Loki. No other soul could help him now.

 

This was it. This would be Tom's death.

 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

"He's seizing! I'm going to strap him in and start him on IV anti seizing meds- Hey! Watch how you're driving you twat!" Dark brows scrunching together as Jon tried to insert the needle into Tom's vein.

 

"I'm _trying_ mate, but it's not my fault these bloody idiots can't learn to PULL OVER when they hear the _SIRENS_!" Calvin, the second paramedic, then jerked as he narrowly avoided yet another one of these "bloody idiots" who had decided to stop in the middle of the intersection. He then angrily mumbled the rest of the way. Jon could hear a faint frustrated threat, along the lines of "I'll put all of you in the hospital and I don't mean by driving you there".

 

When they arrived, a short thin nurse took the clipboard with all of Tom's information and started reading it off to Doctor Hoult, the attending E.R. physician in a clear and concise voice. Trustful and bright reassuring grey eyes, there was no doubt Tom was in good hands, this doctor was the very best.

 

"Witnesses at the scene identify this man as a Thomas W. Hiddleston, a known actor, so we've got a head start on this man's health. Luckily, he had a check up three days ago and he's clean, what must have brought on these seizures has to have happened between that time and today."

 

Dr. Hoult's brows furrowed in concentration, he examined Tom for any bruises and cuts that might indicate head injury. "The cut on his head is fairly recent but not substantial enough to indicate serious head trauma. He's still unconscious." Straightening from shining an flashlight into Tom's eyes, he faced the nurse, "Run an EEG and PET scan as well as blood tests. Let me know what the results are. Keep a close watch on his vitals."

 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

"Where is my friend? His name is Thomas William Hiddleston, I need to know if he's okay!" Chris's face red from having ran from the visitors parking lot to the E.R. But with all of the workouts he's done, his breath was still as steady as a trained athlete, despite being nervous and worried over Tom's health.

 

"Sir, unless you're immediate family, you're going to have to take a seat. We cannot let you see the patient." The nurse politely informed Chris, knowing close friends are as good as family, but policy insists she uphold the rules. "And because my 14 year old daughter is absolutely in love with you Mr.Hemsworth, I happen to know you and the patient are not related." she added sweetly.

 

Seeing an opportunity, Chris dug into his pocket for a pen and deftly snatched a piece of paper from the nurse's desk. Despite her startled gasp, he looked up at her expectantly, "Your daughters name?"

 

"Amelie." She smiled, realising his game.

 

"Pretty name. See miss, I hate using my fame to get what I want, but Tom is my best friend and he confided something in me earlier before, I don't want him to freak out any more than he already has. So if I give you an autograph for Amelie, will you let me in to see him?"

 

She wrung her hands as she considered this, protocol and her love for her daughter fighting a battle in her mind. "I'm not sure, there are rules, I don't know what I would do if I lost this job. But my Amelie loves you so much..."

 

"I'll throw in my phone number and talk to her personally, I'm sure she would like that." And Chris smiled sincerely.

 

The nurse beamed at him "Oh you've done it! Deal! But I'll have to escort you in myself, in case anyone asks questions. Thank you!"

 

She quickly looked up Tom's room number, seeing that it would be empty when she got him there. Chris wrote out a note and autograph, and wrote down his phone number. Feeling a pang of guilt for having used his celebrity status for leverage, Tom was definitely worth it.

 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

Tom woke with a start, sitting up right only to bang his head on the PET scan machine. He began yelling and trying to fight his way out.

 

"Get me a sedative quick! Enough to calm him, he's already been unconscious!" The male nurse started taking Tom out of the machine, ready to hold him down while the technician got the sedative.

 

"Let go of me! I've got to get away, I've got to leave! I-I-I-..... Oh...." Tom was relaxed, strapped to the machine's table and made to redo the test.

 

Tom was silly and half asleep by the time he got back to his room. He smiling and complemented everyone on the oddest of things; the whiteness of lab coats, nurse's exceptional bed driving skills, and in one case, the way the light captured the very nice angle of the janitor's nose bridge.

 

"Tom! What happened, mate? How are you feeling? Are you okay?" Chris fussed over Tom as if he were his little brother, of course Tom was the older one, he knows Tom would be doing the same if the situations were reversed.

 

"Chrisss, how are you? He came back, it hurt but I'm okay...I think...." tongue clicking on that last word, Tom lay in the bed, staring at Chris sadly confused. "I don't know what happened, I woke up in that big scary machine, hit my head trying to get away from him... I don't know what happened."

 

"It's alright mate, we'll find out. When you say 'him' are you talking about..." Chris looked around the room to make sure no one was around to hear his conversation and guardedly continued in a whisper. "... Loki? Is that who you've seen?" Tom's eyes widened at the mention of the god's name, almost expecting to see him appear from nowhere. Chris put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "Its okay, no need to worry, I'm here for you. We can talk later, after we find out what caused this seizure."

 

"Ah Mr.Hiddleston you're awake. I'm Dr. Hoult and I've come to tell you good news."

 

Tom froze, this was a tall blonde man, but there was no mistake in those dark green eyes, that snake of a smile, and the well suppressed disgust in his voice.

 

This was not Dr.Hoult, the trickster god was playing another trick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well he isn't Loki the Gracious God of Pleasantness


	5. Lineage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I SINCERELY APOLOGIZE FOR THE LONG WAIT. I have had a lot going on, fell off the wagon quite a bit, but I am back and while itlle take a while for me to get back into the flow of writing, I'll hopefully finish this thing. Once again thank you to my Lovely Looney Beta Amber. Even if i disappear for months(or years? :O) she's still there to criticise my work.
> 
> For updates and chances to have a piece of my story, visit and Like my facebook page at www.facebook.com/azucenov or follow my twitter @AzuBodhisattva! Thanks guys, its quite a fun journey with y'all.

"Mother! Mother! Look!" A young raven haired boy ran up to his mother, in his hands he carried glass pebbles made smooth and round from the constant polishing by the Asgardian seas.

“Oh Loki! These are beautiful! This one,” she picked up an opal-like pebble with flecks of emerald green encased in colours of the galaxy, “looks like what I see in your eyes when you gaze up to the stars.” Frigga placed the pebble back amongst the other brilliant colours, and watched her adopted child run through the chilling waters. On these cold days, Frigga sat on a rock alternating between watching her son play in the freezing ice cold waters, which for his heritage was completely normal, and casting magic from a book of spells and incantations. Freezing weather was a Jotun's equivalent to swimming on a summer day, it never ceased to amaze her when he would swim and play in temperatures that would make a regular person sick.

Loki burst out of the water and took in a lungful of air, “I’m going to make an enchanted charm for Thor!” He held up fistfuls of blue and silver rocks, panting through his brilliant smile.

Frigga smiled at him as he deposited his collection of sea glass into the escort guard's hands. the small galaxies clinking softly in his palm.

“My stars, please sit with me.”

She sighed, she was not looking forward to telling him about the prophesy; telling the vision of the future to one so young would take away his enjoyment of the few younger years he has. The children already don't enjoy their youth in the eyesight of the public and when officials come to visit the palace. And as sons of the king, they're in sight constantly.

“Mother, whats wrong?” he sat on the boulder with her, wrapping his arms around her, already dry from a hydrophobic spell he encased himself in before getting into the water.

She freed herself from his embrace and placed her hands on his shoulders, gently turning him to face her. Her hazel eyes staring deeply into his brilliant green. “Ive had a vision, unclear, but one event in particular will happen and I feel you must know. For it will change you and you must be prepared to handle yourself properly."

"What is it mother?" Their eyes searching each other's faces for the right signs to continue. To know it's okay.

A tense moment passed, but it felt like eternity. Young Loki's face a pale porcelain, one of multitudes of things that Frigga loved about her son. She would speak to this beautiful figurine of a son, so delicate in appearance, but she knew better than any who knew Loki. He was not weak.

  
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

" Let me not to the marriage of true minds  
Admit impediments. Love is not love  
Which alters when it alteration finds,  
Or bends with the remover to remove:  
O no! It is an ever-fixed mark  
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;  
It is the star to every wandering bark,   
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.  
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks  
Within his bending sickle's compass come:  
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,  
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.  
If this be error and upon me proved,   
I never writ, nor no man ever loved."

With an echo of the sonnet's last words, the classroom stayed silent as students looked at Tom, waiting for the voice that made anyone want to listen. The class erupted in applause, everyone knew he enjoyed reading Shakespeare with every emotional fibre of his being. And it was true for Tom, Shakespeare was one of his favourite writers, there was no doubt he was able to pour a bit of himself every time he recited his work.

Looking back and forth between his classmates and his teacher, Tom shuffled back to his seat unsurely. At only 17 years of age and a shy twig of a boy, it still startled him when people paid attention to him. Still only preferring to be on the edge of society, his dreams of being an actor meant that he had to work on freeing himself from his introverted ways.

When class let out, Tom rushed outside to see in the distance a girl walking in his direction, and a smile broke out on his face. It was none other than his beautiful russet skinned friend. She was tall, straight jet black hair, and an athletic body acquired from years of training on the rowing team. With natural beauty inherited from her Native American ancestry, she was what every man's fantasy girl. She was also Tom's best friend, even though he had a crush on her, he valued her friendship above all others. And her name was Elowen.

"I've got a brand new television as a graduation gift from my parents, let's marathon cheesy romantic movies and overdose on pizza until we pass out!" She hugged Tom and hastily kissed him on both cheeks in greeting.

"Hello to you too love, and yes I would love to finally do something on a Friday night that isn't school work." He grinned.

After agreeing to meet Elowen at her home, Tom drove home to back up some clothes for the night. The drive over to her house wasn't long, but it was still long enough to appreciate the setting sun under the rainclouds. Storms and sunny rainy days were his favourite. The sweet smell of petrichor reminded him of all things familiar. It reminded him of the days when the cold enveloped him in an icy embrace, and he would sit out with a mug of hot coffee and enjoy listening to the raindrops pitter patter on the wood deck out in his back yard.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

  
Halfway through their third film, they both drifted asleep. Tom was haphazardly laying across Elowen when he woke up hearing strange noises coming from downstairs.

He carefully untangled Elowen's hand from his hair, not wanting to wake her up, and walked across landing above the ground floor.

Whispers.

"Hello?"

Tom heard, or more so felt, the voice reverberate through the walls _"...Listen well...."_ said a female voice, she sounded like a distance echo.

He cautiously started down the stairs, "Listen to what miss? Please, we don't want any trouble. Hello?"

With each step he took, the temperature began to drop.

_"....Each one of us only half a being...."_

The sounds of oceans started to rise in volume.

_".... to fight, to love, and to live..."_

The smell of sea water drifted to Tom's nostrils.

_"...solely to find and to protect your other half."_

A bright flash of light engulfed the entire room as he took the last step, his foot digging into icy sand. Once his eyes eyes adjusted, Tom was surprised to see he was not in Elowen's house anymore.

Not unlike the day of his drive, the sky was overcast and cold. Long streaks, almost like faint auroras of many colours flowed through the sky, almost playfully disappearing against the grey contrast. The ocean was an infinite blue, so deep and massively terrifying, but so safe and alluring.

Ahead of him, were a woman and a child sitting on a big rock. "Pardon me, sorry, can you tell me where I am?" He called to them.

The boy seemed to look back, just a quick glance, a dart so green it went through him. But not seeing him. Tom's breath caught in his throat, this all felt surreal.

Walking around to stand in front of them, he waved his hand in front of their faces.

Nothing.

"Hmm. Peculiar."

She spoke after a long look at her son.

_"We enter this world in pieces, halves, or rarely as a whole. And I can see in you that you were born halved."_

The boy spoke, _"But mother, I don't understand, how do you know this? Who is my other half?"_

Tom stood, engrossed in a conversation far beyond his understanding. Something in his heart told him that, while he didn't understand what she meant, but that it somehow was something he should know. He kneeled in front of the sitting boy and woman, ready to take in more.

_"It takes a rare kind of seer, to see pieces of someone. I developed this gift only a few years before your birth, and it was such beauty how strong and vibrant your fragment is."_ The woman put her hand on the boy's shoulder. _"But no matter who the seer, or how talented, no one can tell you whom will be your fated piece."_

The boy looked down at his intertwined hands on his lap, _"I think I do know, mother,"_ his voice echoed softly as he looked back up at his mother, _"I dream of blue eyes with flecks of brown wood, hair that seems to hold the colour of the sun and soil, and skin that radiates life. Tell me, I dream so often of this, that I feel whole, could this be what you speak of?"_

The woman put her hand on the boys cheek and looked at him with so much affection and admiration, even Tom had to touch his own cheek, feeling the warmth strongly.

_"Quite possibly my love. It is not until your eyes meet and your words to each other will fill you with such strong emotion. So strong that being without one another will only serve to make you invincible in your fight to break down any wall or eliminate any resistance that keeps you both away."_ She stood up, offering her hand to the boy.

He looked up at her with sheer confusion, _"I still do not fully understand Frigga, when am I supposed to meet my other half?"_

Tom stared at the boy, body burning hot, as if a fire of purpose and drive was lit within him.

_"My dearest Loki... fate, no matter when, will lead you to them. You will be pulled to your other half, and you won't know it until it has slammed into your very being and you feel so strongly that it will just happen. Have patience. I have seen that it will make you both one in mind and body. Now come, your brother awaits us to join him for his favourite time of day."_

The boy jumped up and took his mothers hand, _"Mother, I believe anything that involves food is a favourite of Thor's."_

Still kneeling in the sand, Tom stared long and hard at the retreating figures, the echo of their voices drifted until they were merely blurs in the distance.

A bright light flashed again, the environment felt warmer and darker. Elowen's soft breathing the only sound in the room, her hand still intertwined in his hair. His eyes open and staring up, unbelieving.

He felt a rush of déjà vu, as he untangled himself from his best friend and traced the steps he took in his dream. Slowly and quietly making his way to the backyard, it was still lightly raining.

Tom quietly slid the glass doors open, taking equal precaution to close it behind him, so as to not let the frigid air take the warmth from the home. His bare feet splashing in shallow puddles as he made his way out from under the veranda. The moon was visible from a break in the rain clouds, illuminating his skin in a pale blue glow, eyes reflecting infinite moons as he tilted his face up to feel the kisses that the raindrops left on his face.

He closed his eyes and spread his arms wide to feel more of the sprinkling on his face and arms, a wintry embrace and an inhale of crisp air made him feel clear. On such a beautiful night there was nothing that made Tom feel clearer than releasing himself to what he loved most. After experiencing such a dream and hearing such words, he understood what it was meant to tell him.

Tom's soft whisper was almost as divine as a prayer, as if to the skies he was announcing his newfound knowledge.

"I have a soulmate."


	6. Shock Advised

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry. Im kind of an asshole for making Loki an asshole. But I promise it ends now(-ish). Once again my beta/manager-whose-opinion-pretty-much-makes-the-decision-on-wether-it-is-worthy-or-not Amber is the best person in the whole world who dubbed this chapter "Beautiful". Ugh I love you you're so awesome.
> 
> Once again, if you want updates, sneak peks, and submit work comments, questions and/or concerns, like my page www.facebook.com/Azucenov its a great help to talk to you guys and be able to include you guys in the creation of each and every chapter!

St. Thomas Hospital

"Chris it's him."

Tom's hands clenched the bedsheets, his knuckles turning white. Chris glanced at Loki, after a moment, saw nothing.

"What are you talking about? Of course it's him! Our God, King Loki is here to personally handle you."

Tom's head whipped to look at Chris, he stood there smiling with the same easiness as if he hadn't just formally introduced his worst fear.

"Sorry... What did you say?" but before Tom could register what was going on, Chris's hands were around his throat like a vice, keeping him pinned to the bed and fighting for breath.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Blood tests show he hasn't been poisoned. Combine the PET results and it shows normal body functions aside from his cells intaking double the amount of oxygen but he's stable."

There was a still moment while the machine technician thought it over. He took a sharp breath and looked to his assistant, "Help me hook him up to the EEG, Hoult wants to know what his brain activity is like."

 

"Hello I'm Dr. Hoult, physician in charge of Mr. Hiddleston's case." He firmly shook Chris's hand.

Chris' eyes followed Hoult to Tom, he started jotting down notes "I'm Chris, his coworker."

"Were you with him when he collapsed?" He pulled up Tom's eyelids shined a light into Tom's eyes.

Chris sat back down at Tom's side, "I wasn't. Paramedics were already there when I had heard it was him."

"It surely is an abnormality, his brain activity is over double the normal amount, he's dreaming heavily and from the looks of it, vividly" Tom recoiled from the doctor's touching and prodding. Mumbling, wanting to be let go. The light scratches of Dr.Hoult's pen making notes filled the silent room like a bullhorn.

"Has he shown any sign of mental illness before today?"

Chris hesitated, "Well... He's been more distracted," he glanced at Tom "he's been having really.... terrifying... nightmares."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

_"Hemsworth, you may go now. I only wanted him to have a taste of death."_

_"Yes, my king."_

Tom felt the searing pain of having his neck wrung like a wet towel, the weightlessness of being unconscious or dead. But he probably wasn't dead, he heard their voices. Most painful voice of all was his best friend's betrayal.

This was real, _so very real_ , and he was finally going to be killed horrendously ironically by a God that he didn't know existed past a movie role he was playing as.

_"Pet, you may wake up now. I know you are listening"_

Tom felt Loki's magic lift the dark veil and he opened his eyes. There standing at the foot of his bed was Loki in his true form, once again in his black and gold armour, the glint of a well polished horned helmet caught his eye. Tom couldn't help but question how he was alive, how this evil deity was able to get to him in a hospital full of witnesses. Bold move Loki. Bold. Move.

"You see Thomas, you continue your meagre existence because I allow it. Now get those nasty thoughts from your head, because I am with you now." He smirked "And for further reference, I am the god of tricks, figure it out." Loki paced to the right. Tom lay paralysed with fear, Loki was in his head again. He kept preparing himself for any of Loki's sudden attacks, but it was futile, he knew.

Loki turned on his heel, looking annoyed at Tom. "You see my dear pet, you've squealed like the craven swine you are and now you've infuriated me to no end. So I must punish you."

"Please... Just leave me be," Tom's fear and pain evident in his voice as he struggled to sit up, "I haven't done anything to you. Why are you doing this to me?"

Loki looked up to the ceiling, clearly losing his patience with this stupid human. "It is because you are my complete opposite, you blithering quim." Loki snarled "You were born mortal blessed with the face of a god and king," he disappeared and reappeared a foot away from Tom.

" _MY_ FACE!"

Those two words were delivered with a powerful hook to Tom's jaw, knocking him back down to the bed. Blood started trickling from his mouth from broken teeth.

"Stop!" Tom tried to throw a punch in retaliation, natural human instinct to protect and defend oneself kicking in, but Loki quickly caught his fist. He wrenched Tom's arm and anchored it next to his head, the other placed rested on the the other side.

Loki leaned down threateningly and brought his face close to Tom's, grip tightening on his wrist and bedsheets. Tom's winces and cries nothing but music to his ears.

Tom finally looked at his aggressor and looked into his viridescent eyes. He felt sudden familiarity and slowly remembered a long forgotten dream. He heard words that he knew Loki must have heard too.

He knew what he must do to make him stop.

Mustering up what courage and lost memory he had, he spoke out.

"Loki, listen well." Tom wasn't sure if this idea would work, nervously stuttering words as he began to recite his only lifeline.

"You dare command me?" Loki was absolutely furious.

Tom quickly spoke, before Loki could attack.

"Loki, each of us is only half a soul. To fight, to love, and to live _solely_ ," Tom closed his eyes, his courage leaving him as he felt Loki's grip loosen on his wrist.

"...to find and to protect your other half."

Loki's eyes grew wide with recognition of words said to him millennials ago. "Where?! Thomas, where did you hear those words?!"

Tom screwed his eyes shut at the sudden loudness.

Loki violently shook the bed in exasperation. _"WHO TOLD YOU THOSE WORDS!"_  

"Your mother! She told them to you years ago, on that cold beach!" Ton screwed his eyes shut, "it came to me in a dream. It was you because I can't forget the colour of your eyes and the way you looked at- through me that day."

Dumbfounded, Loki backed off. The sudden realisation hitting him harder than Thor ever had in their many fights.

"No..." Loki couldn't believe it.

 _"No...you cannot possibly be..."_ He will not believe it.

"NO. I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO BE MY MISSING SOUL!" A silver sword appeared in his hand as he lunged toward Tom, driving its point through his other half.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The hours turned the day to night as a sleeping Chris sat with his brow furrowed and arms crossed over his chest. It wasn't until about 3 AM that he woke up to a different rhythm in the environment.

Chris stood up and paced slowly around the room. He stepped outside Tom's room, hospital staff and nurses quietly working at their stations. He was attuned to the normal sounds of the emergency department by now; the intake and sigh of breathing machines, the steady and quiet rhythms of blips from heart monitors, an occasional quiet cry of a girl safely held under a psychiatric hold.

Something still didn't seem right, but everything was so quiet, only meant to sound alarms if something was well and truly wrong. Chris hung his head and walked back into Tom's room.

He sat back down at Tom's side and dolefully stared at his best friend for a while.

Listening. Concentrating. And there it was.

The vitals monitor.

Tom's heart rate was beating slightly faster than normal, the tone of the blip indicating an abnormal non-emergency change in his heart and breathing rhythm.

"Tom. It's okay, I'm here, you're in good hands." Chris cooed at Tom. "No ones going to hurt you here, you're going to be fine."

Within seconds, the monitors only got louder, the tempo of his heart faster. Tom's eyes opened wide, staring at the ceiling.

"Tom!" But before Chis could take another step, a male nurse moved him aside.

"I apologise sir, you're going to have to step out, it's okay, we'll do everything possible to keep him going."

Chris stared past the nurse as he was walked backwards out of the door, his line of sight to Tom blocked by the medical team rushing past him.

"He's coding! Start resuscitation and get the AED!" A small young nurse started chest compressions, while another went for the defibrillator.

One push of a button started a high pitched noise as the AED charged. They pulled off the top half of Tom's gown and placed an electrode pad over Tom's right pectoral and the side under his heart.

"Everyone get clear!" The nurse pressed the machines analyse button and let the device search Tom for any sign of life.

Three steady blips as it searched for a pulse.

 _"Shock advised."_ The machine's voice chimed.

In that same moment Chris winced as the nurse pressed a button that made Tom's body jerk from the electricity pulsing though his body. It was as if everything was in slow motion, as they started another set of chest compressions.

Two minutes felt like an eternity, Chris waited for the machines diagnosis as the nurse pressed the analyse button again.

Three blips.

_"Shock Advised."_

Once again, the emergency response team started their routine.

Shock.

Chest compressions.

Ventilation.

Chris stood frozen, as he watched his best friend fade away with each second his heart doesn't start pumping. Oxygen-rich blood will run out and the cells in his body will begin to die.

It was unnerving how Tom's eyes opened before the machines started alerting his state. He suspected that the God was in him. He felt powerless to help Tom, as he lay dying in the hospital full of people Chris knew were powerless against an angry God. It's knowing his best friends fate that killed him inside. That he would die without knowing why.

"We're up for one last try." the nurse called out to the others.

Dr. Hoult ran in, and took over the next minute of chest compressions.

"What caused this?" He asked the man in front of him.

"We don't know yet, we just started the AED, monitors showed his vitals crashed."

"Clear!" Everyone stepped back when the sweat stained nurse pressed the analyse button.

In this final try, Hoult spoke clearly to the team's diminishing hopes, “Okay, we’ve been coding this patient for 10 minutes, and there’s been a substantial loss of oxygen and the patient already had abnormal brain and circulatory activity. Does anyone here want to do anything else? If so, tell me now."

The youngest nurse spoke "Doctor, I'd like to try administering beta blockers- oh my god!"

"What the bloody hell?"

_"Shock advised."_


End file.
